Great teams do not equal great games

If one were to listen to the team ESPN has doing pregame for the NBA Playoffs, you committing a crime if you miss a second of its riveting drama. A lot of sentences begin with the phrase "You're missing one of the great..." as if to guilt you into watching more. They say you're missing one of the great players in Tim Duncan. Now he is a great player, or at least he was. He finished 19th in the league in scoring this year and 7th in rebounding (Antawn Jamison finished 20th and 12th). And the Spurs are a great team, or at least they were. This year they finished with the third best record in the league, and were aided by Dallas's first round upset and Phoenix's controversial suspension.

But the games stink. The Dallas-Golden State series was good, but it was a first round matchup and Golden State wasn't going any further. Game 1 of San Antonio-Phoenix was good, mostly because Steve Nash was bleeding like a stuck pig. But there hasn't been any great games that matter. For that matter, how many great games that matter have their been in the NBA Playoffs in recent years? Game 4 of L.A.-Sacramento in 2002 when a loose ball rolls to Robert Horry and he nails a 3 with triple zeros showing was truly a great game. Game 5 of L.A.-San Antonio in 2004 when Derek Fisher hit the game winner, the ball inbounded to him with 0.4 left on the clock, was a great game. Those are the only two great games between potential title winning teams since Michael Jordan retired from the Bulls.

Over that time, the Broncos-Packers, Rams-Titans, Patriots-Rams, and Patriots-Panthers Super Bowls, the tuck rule game, and last year's AFC Championship Game were all great games. And, of course, the NFL has considerably fewer playoff games because the NBA has 7 game series. The NFL has parity, the NBA doesn't. When only 2 or 3 teams have any chance of winning, if one matches up well against the other, there aren't going to be any great, meaningful, memorable games that year. Because Dallas was knocked out early and the shenanigans of the San Antonio-Phoenix series, there hasn't been a great game between great teams this year. Just like as most years.